Robert Mapplethorpe’s Stunning Nude Polaroids Show There Was Art Before Photoshop (NSFW)

Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe entered the New York City art scene in the early 1970s after the controversy over his first solo gallery exhibition, "Polaroids," made him a well-known name in the industry. Over the next decade, he continued to add to the series, which captured artists, socialites, and porn stars participating in New York's underground S & M scene.

Moving into the '80s, Mapplethorpe continued to master his unique technical form of black and white photography without the help of computer programs or digital manipulation. Mapplethorpe was a master craftsman with light and angle rather than copy and paste. The following images are from his portfolio of Female Nudes and are NSFW.